Oh...the things we do!

I recollect the times while working in an office, especially in Mumbai, when I'd crave some peace and quiet. I would even get to office earlier at times to get work done before the phones started ringing and colleagues started making calls on their speaker phones.
Now that I work from home....guess what? I use Coffitivity.com to create some noise. Imagine faking the work environment! I guess, as they say...the grass is always greener......

I'm resistant to Change....

...yes...yes..that's a confession and the existing proof makes it a difficult fact to deny. Its been a week and a half since the time change where we have gone back by an hour, but I still refuse to change my watch and clocks around the house. The clocks that got lucky to be at the right time are the ones that had a automatic update! But then I'm not the only one...all the clocks in my gym too need the updated time. Aren't these guys really lazy?? heeeeheeee

Well no, but I'm not even lazy - everyday I look at my bedside clock and the watch that I'm wearing and think its time to change the time, but then I stop myself....what is it?? the fear of the unknown? or is it a fear that the current way of life that I'm accustomed to will change?? How will it change, I ask myself...by you just changing the time on your clock....the real time has already changed hasn't it...? As  I ask myself these questions, I get really confused and decide not to do it till tomorrow.....! But to a resistant mind...the questions never cease do they?

So here I am with the time still an hour ahead of what it should be....maybe I like to be ahead of time I tell myself!!!!

Rain "Mosaic"ed!

Rain!!! Now where do I begin....after the havoc the rain caused at my parents home two days back, the hate relationship will soon go to "Superhate"....It was so bad and the agony of not being there to help my parents getting things back together is even worse. While they keep assuring me that everything is alright and things are getting back to normal, the tiredness and a the little remorse in their voice over loosing so many of their possessions is very agonising to say the least. But thank god everyone is safe and life seems to be gaining normalcy slowly.

Here are some of the pictures of the havoc. This one if of our car...which got on to another neighbours car.

So in an already low state of mind, the wet depressing weather was not helping much. When I used to run to work on wet and watery days, getting wet and sniffing away in office, my dream used to be sitting by the window, sipping hot coffee while reading a book and watching the rain. Over the last few days, I realised that now that I had the time, I wasn't really living that dream. But somehow today I didn't feel like a book. And tomorrow some friends have a house warming party - so I thought why not make a little gift for them. So while my parents were piecing the house back together, I decided to do the same - i.e. some mosaic! I set up a mini workshop in the balcony trying to enjoy the weather and since I was working with glass, didn't want it to get into everything else. And it was strangely therapeutic...I felt good about the mosaic and also the weather - the sun almost came out for a while!! So here's what I made - its still work- in -progress though.

P.S - If you aren't a great photographer and basically clumsy - don't try too many stunts to try and get your pics right. After the pic above - only one of the glasses remains!

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps....

....but you sure do!! It was just so terrible...one of the few movies where I've seriously considered getting out of the theatre. It's almost like a documentary on how money is controlled. Those who know it won't want to watch it again and those who don't, don't know it because it isn't something that excites them terribly anyway. I haven't seen the first part - but I guess its better than this one!!

Those of you who still want to see the movie of course must - you can't rely too much on the opinion of someone who slept through most of it anyway!!

Desi Dilemma – “Outsourced” or “The Big Bang Theory”?

……..need you even ask – Of course “The Big Bang Theory” (BBT)

When Vinit (my cousin) invited me to this group – the first thing was – a group?? For this? But I decided to play along…its just two “velas” – him, with his family in away and me without a job. And secondly, I abhor the word “Desi”. I haven’t figured out why most Indians staying abroad use it ever so often, maybe it’s a term of endearment that’s supposed to bond us together…but come on, can’t we do better than “Desi”?? But well, that’s a discussion for another day.

Moving on to the question at hand…is there really a doubt which one to watch? A quick show of hands around the me (of course both my own) has solved the dilemma real quick! Who wants to anyway watch a half baked, badly researched rendition of life in an Indian call centre? Having been a part of one myself and having spent some of the most enjoyable years of my working life there – I haven’t really enjoyed any of the movies or books written on call centres – be it “One night at a call centre”, “Hello”, or then the very popular “Outsourced” who I know a lot of people thoroughly enjoyed! So I’m not going to watch this one either..and even if I do I’m sure I won’t like it.

And then WHO wouldn’t want to watch the completely crazy and lovable Sheldon, Leonard, Raj, Penny and Wolowitz??? But then of course you are talking to a person who can watch an entire episode of Sheldon doing his prized “knock Knock – Penny” *3 and laugh out loud each time he does it? And who wouldn’t want to watch Leonard’s goofy smile with his neck tilting upwards and give him a huge bear hug? Quite simply – I LOVE THE SHOW….and after each episode I can’t wait to watch another one. I wish they’d make a movie on it too….a really really long one – which you can watch everyday whenever you’re stressed or bored. And when I watch BBT – I almost feel like I’m right there, living with them. And the series does seem to be well researched -well actually I haven’t ever gone and googled any of the things Sheldon states to check if they were true…reasons of course being that I don’t understand a thing about Physics and also I don’t really remember the facts at the end of the episode!! And its all good clean humour…not some joke where I have to rack my brain to understand the meaning or turn to the hubby for explanation….

So all in all – I’m gonna watch BBT and not “Outsourced” – I have enough people already – spelling my name as Menasi - how “A” and “E” ever sound alike beats me – to watch my accent being mocked yet again!! I wonder though how a person with the accent like they show on the “show” will ever get recruited into a call centre. All in all – I have tremendous respect for the call centre “agents” as they are called. Having worked in the HR department I used to wonder how they can work like they did and would am sure I will never be able to do it myself. The pressure is tremendous, the hours are crazy, not to forget the wackos you have to deal with often on the calls.

So bring it on Sheldon, Leonard and gang…! And of course, us “desis” will decide which one we want to watch!!

Been there, met her!!!

Yippeee....I met Sophie Kinsella and it was so much fun!! She spoke, read, answered questions and also signed the books! Anyway considering that she's the queen of chick-lit, it wasn't much a surprise though that the place was filled with only women...there were a few men but mostly accompanying their partners as photographers I think! It was so exciting to see all these women with soo much of a passion for all of Sophie's books!

What I really liked about Sophie though was her sense of humour and humility. She was really like the next door neighbour....except that she wrote really popular best selling books! But she patiently spoke to everyone, signed the book and even posed for pics! My take away from the evening was that she said, "You should write what you as a reader will want to read, without trying to guess what the readers will want to read"...food for thought..

And I wasn't so celebrity struck today and managed to speak to her, take a pic and get my book signed...so a good sign and an evening very well spent..

The interesting thing is that "Undomestic Goddess" and "Can you keep a secret" could be made into movies soon...people are already working on it! Wow..would love to guess who'll be cast as Jack Harper!

As of now.....looking forward to reading the Mini Shopaholic...!!!

Guess who's coming to town??

....Sophie Kinsella...that's who!!! My favourite chick lit author....and well she's not coming to my town..but to NYC...and I'm most excited!

I read my first Shopaholic book when I was going through a particularly stressful and low period in life...and boy did it get my spirits up! A colleague introduced me to the Shopaholic series then, and I have'nt stopped raving about it and recommending it to people since. I've read every single book atleast twice and I do a re-read ever so often. Thank god she releases a book every year!

I'm looking forward to meeting her and if possible having a word as well...but the problem is I'm so "celeb struck" that I get dumbfound when I see someone famous...but then again I don't get to meet my favourite author everyday do I?

http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/author-events/Sophie-Kinsella/1020738